Abnormal Thoughts
by HomicidalSally
Summary: Arthur was just a boy with crushed dreams. He thought he was only going to live a dull life of a British soldier when his loss of footing changes his life forever. Revolutionary War AU; human names used. ((IN PROGRESS))
1. Going Nowhere Fast

Arthur was sprinting through the vast woods as he was soaked from the drenched vegetation he ran past and the spiteful raindrops that pelted at him from above like needles. The blond hair he had that was once fluffy and in his mother's words, 'utterly adorable', is now dark beige and was clung onto his temple. His beautiful red attire that marked him as an infamous redcoat was now a dark burgundy and had splatters of mud newly adorned onto it. His white trousers were covered with even more mud and were now an ugly light grey. Running with his musket in hand, Arthur frankly had no idea where he was, let alone where he was going. He suddenly halted in place to find his bearings, if he had any. The forest looked the same from all angles. The blinding precipitation from above did not help much either. Arthur looked around noticing the horrible disadvantage of not being native to these parts. He was breathing heavy from all the running he had done. Oh, he longed for home in Yorkshire. Arthur was a pacifist who was forced into joining the British military by his parents when he turned eighteen. As he reflected upon that he quickly realized he was still young, a now twenty-one year old with his birthday just around the corner.

"I have to get out of here." He said aloud to himself in his notable British accent, "I already ran from my troop earlier so how hard can this be?"

Well making a break from a bunch of redcoats who walked in an uncanny, well- aligned crowd when you're standing in the back is pretty simple when an assertive downpour is bombarding the forest with an uproar of noise. He practically slipped away without anyone noticing and then darted to this current, confusing location. Arthur grinned at how easily he had gotten away even though now he was very well lost. Aggravated with himself and his situation, he furrowed his bushy brow, gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and continued his journey to God knows where. Dodging trees and jumping over fallen logs was very taxing on his body and energy. He was never a very athletic child; in fact he longed to become a famous chef and live in France. Unfortunately Arthur's lack of cooking skills only ensured that his parents would send him to become a redcoat; he despised himself for that.

Suddenly Arthur tripped on a tree root and fell almost immediately. A nearby sharp rock gashed his face as he quickly descended to the moist, yet hard earth below him. He was too exhausted to pick himself up and continue his expedition to nowhere. The blood that was now spilling from the right side of face just added to his list of problems. Oddly, his vision had gotten blurry and in the failing process of him attempting to refocus his eyes, everything had gone black.


	2. Strange Meetings

"_But Father I desire to become a world class chef, not some obnoxious sold—"_

"_Chef? You couldn't cook even if your life depended on it!" _

"_Do not mock me!" _

"_It's not mocking if it's a fact. You're becoming a soldier whether you like it or not."_

_Arthur's brow furrowed and an immense anger had filled his core, "I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO DICTATE MY LIFE ANY LONGER!"_

_A blunt object had hit his left cheek with such a brute force that it knocked Arthur to the floor of the kitchen; it was a nearby wrought iron frying pan. He tasted the blood that flooded his mouth and felt the maroon liquid drip from his nostrils. His vision was doubled and blurred and he could barely see through his left eye. He looked up with the remaining strength he had left at the dark figure that stood above him. Arthur's fast fading logic assumed that it was his dad. He heard a loud boom of sound coming from the man:_

"_YOU LI- TO M-EE YOU UN…ATEFUL BOY!"_

_Arthur could hardly make out the shouted abuse that was directed towards him. Then all of a sudden a boot hit him square in the face and he saw the wooden floor hastily meeting his fac—_

"AGHHHHHHHH!" Arthur exclaimed as he quickly rose from an olive green couch.

A girl that was sweeping the hardwood floor near a beige rug jumped from the sudden yell. She had beautiful long, light brown hair and striking green eyes. Her attire was just a light pink dress with sleeves that went to the elbow and had bell shaped shoulders and had ruffles near the edges of the collar. The girl also had light grey short heeled shoes. She looked around Arthur's age and was very cute.

"Oh!" the girl said with a Hungarian accent, "Jól vagy?"

Arthur was dumbfounded by the girl's language. All he could think to respond with was, "I'm sorry?"

"Oh my," the girl said, "I apologize for talking to a soldier in my native tongue! My family and I are new in the neighborhood and I just recently learned English."

"Learnt."

"Pardon?"

"You said learned when the correct term is learnt."

"My apologizes, good sir."

"It's alright, now could you tell me where I am and how I got here?"

"Of course," the girl leaned her broom against the wall near one of the windows and sat on the wooden chair that was at the end of the couch where Arthur's feet were. "You are currently in the living room of my parent's household in Worchester, Massachusetts on our sofa. You were found in the forest by my father while he was checking his snares for any rabbits and he brought you back here."

"Well, thank you for bringing me into your lovely home and for fixing me up."

"Szívesen."

Arthur smiled assuming that meant 'you're welcome' in the language she was using. Wherever Worchester, Massachusetts was, he was safe now. He quickly realized he had no idea who she was and he said, "I'm afraid I never had gotten your name."

"Oh, my name is Elizabeta but I just go by Eliza!" Eliza said cheerfully.

"Ah, a pretty name for a pretty girl. My name is Kirkland, Arthur Kirkland."

Eliza smiled at the complement and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Arthur."

"As it is with you"

Arthur turned away to look at the stunning living room more closely. The walls were typical whitewash coloured and there was two windows that he could see; the window that was closest to him was the one where Eliza and leaned her broom by, the other was a few meters away near this elegant table. It had a decadent mahogany finish with a centerpiece of assorted pale flowers with a rather large decorative doily under it. There were four wooden chairs surrounding the beautiful table that looked hand carved. In fact, when Arthur looked around he noticed many hand carved pieces around the room including the chair Eliza was sitting on.

"Eliza, is your father a wood carver?"

"Why yes, he is. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I just noticed the fine wood products in your home. He does a very good job."

"Oh thank you. I'll be sure to tell him that."

Arthur smiled and felt the stitching on his cheek. It had a close knit feel of someone who was very skilled with a needle and thread. He felt the stitches go from near his mouth to just past his nose. He was shocked that it was not infected. Eliza had noticed him examining his scar.

"You can thank my mother for that," Eliza said.

"I thank her very much so," Arthur replied.

"Yes, my mother has to sew up my father's wounds all the time so she has a good idea on what she's doing."

"Well, I'm thankful that I am in good hands. Speaking of your parents, where are they?"

"Well my father is currently in town at his job and my mother is upstairs sewing a hole that was in one of my dresses."

"Yes, um, about clothing, do you have some new garbs for me? Mine are kind of…well….take a look for yourself."

"Oh! Thank you for reminding me! My father left some clothes for you upstairs. I'll be right back."

Eliza quickly rose from her chair and hurried to her right and flew past the corner out of sight. The sound of footsteps going up a flight of stairs echoed throughout the room and slowly dissipated. Arthur had slowly risen from the couch and took off his British soldier attire and his black boots to reveal his shift. Eliza brought a clean, white waistcoat, a light grey shirt, and ivory trousers. She then turned her back to let him get dressed. As he was dressing he asked, "Would you like to take a stroll with me and show me around town?"

"Sure! Lucky for you I've just finished my chores for today."

"I'm dressed," he glanced at his dirty clothing, "should I hand you my dirty outfit?"

Eliza turned around, "Oh no, just leave those there. My mother will take care of it."

"Oh, okay."

"Follow me to the door."

Arthur did as he was told and he took a right around the corner and she opened the door and walked out first. The first thing that struck him was how bright it was out. The sky showed no evidence of yesterday's storm. In fact, the only thing that did was the puddles on the nearby wide, dirt road. They turned left on this road which after a few minutes of walking narrowed into town. Arthur looked at the buildings with awe; they were not like the ones in hometown in Yorkshire, but beautiful nonetheless. Eliza then started to point at the mysterious buildings and put a name to them as if it was a rapid fire:

"Okay, the green one is the dry goods store! Oooh, that one is my favorite because they sell these pretty hats! The brown one is where my dad works, he makes furniture. The white building way over there with the cross on it is the church! Next to it is the school! Farms are out that way. The br—"

The truth was Arthur wasn't really listening. He was looking at this boy that was a few meters away from him standing near the dry goods store. He wore wire frame glasses and had an odd cowlick that stuck up in his dark blond hair. He also seemed to be wearing similar clothes to Arthur's, but with a navy blue waistcoat and beige trousers. He seemed to be about his height also. There was a group of cute girls that surrounded him and they seemed to be giggling while he was laughing rather obnoxiously. He looks like a total git, Arthur thought while frowning.

"Mi a fene?! Are you even listening to me?!" Eliza barked.

Arthur shook his head to leave the daze that consumed him. "Ah sorry, I was just looking at that repugnant wanker over there" He pointed at the boy with the cowlick.

"Oh, yes. He can be quite the distraction. Every girl is practically falling head over heels over him. He might be cute and all but he's just not my type."

"Hmm….what's his name?"

"Alfred. I would stay away from him if I were you, or at least don't tell him you're a redcoat"

"Why, is he some diehard patriot?"

"I would consider 'diehard' to be a euphemism in his case. He carries his father's knife around like some trophy and uses it to slit the redcoat's throats when they're near death when he's out fighting with the minutemen. Even though I hate the lobster coats, I believe it is overkill." Eliza jumped and looked at Arthur worriedly, "I-I didn't mean to offend you if I did! I know you're just doing wha-"

"It's fine." Arthur interrupted, "I rather be a patriot myself."

"Oh." Eliza laughed, "I'm glad my father rescued a nice redcoat rather than one of the stingy ones that walk around town."

"Yeah, me too."

Eliza saw his wandering eyes glance back to Alfred and his posse of love struck girls. "You may go up and talk to him if you want, Arthur. Just remember to tread lightly."

"Okay, just have my back if things become out of hand."

"Right."

Arthur walked slowly up to Alfred who was still laughing loudly about something. Must have been some joke, Arthur thought. Alfred caught sight of the coy English boy; the giggling girls silenced and averted their gaze to him as well.

"Hiya!" Alfred announced in an annoying American accent, "I've never seen you before! Are you new?"

"Uh…yes." The radiance of this boy's joyous personality made Arthur flustered. This Alfred redefined the term 'outside voice'.

"Well, the name's Alfred F. Jones. You can just call me the hero for short!"

Some of the girls blushed as if this ludicrous, arrogant behavior was adorable.

"My name is Arthur Kirkland. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Hey man, what happened to your face?!"

Did he really just ignore what I just said, Arthur thought. He had to think of some excuse, "I-I cut it while I was wrestling with my brother." He was very good at making up aliases.

"DAMN! That must've been a helluva fight!"

"Yes, it was, um, quite the quarrel." Eliza was right; this guy is practically the definition of no good. "I hear you're prac-"

"Man! You have a weird accent! What part of Britain are ya from?!"

It is _you _who has the accent, you _git_. "Yorkshire and it is a part of England."

"Woah!" His voice had gotten more serious, "You're not some redcoat are ya?"

Jumping to conclusions already you ass?! "No."

"Cool, 'cause it would be a shame to cut up some nice guy I just met!" Alfred pulled out his knife. Eliza was right about the knife thing too, Arthur thought. The girls awed at the blade like it was a gift from God himself.

"Yes it would be disappointing," _damn_, "to do such a thing," _bloody_, "to someone you just met." _WANKER!_

"Yeah, it would be! Well I gotta go, maybe we could talk again sometime….uh…uh…what is your name?"

This fucking piece of fucking shit did not just fucking _ignore_ me but didn't even fucking _listen_ to what I fucking said! "Arthur, Arthur Kirkland."

"Fancy name, I'm just gonna call you bushy brows, okay?"

_WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?! THIS WANKER THINKS HE CAN JUST CALL ME BY ONE OF MY PHYICAL TRAITS?! IT'S NOT MY FAULT I HAD GOTTEN MY GRANFATHER'S EYEBROWS YOU GIT! _"I guess that would suffice."

"Alright! See ya around, Bushy Brows!" Alfred said as he walked away as his group of admirers followed him eagerly.

"See...you…later…"

Eliza's uproar of laughter from behind startled Arthur. "Bushy Brows! Nice!" she jested.

He turned around and responded indignantly, "Shut up! It's not like I'll talk to that bastard ever again."

"Oh, ho, ho. I don't think so, Arthur. He seemed to take a liking to you."

"So?"

"Let's just say he likes to hunt down friends like a hawk hunts for rodents. In other words, he'll find you and you two _will_ talk again."

_Friends?_ Not on _my_ watch. "_Great_…..just _great_."

"I told you to stay away from him."

"Shut up!"

Eliza laughed once more and said, "My mother probably has lunch ready, let's go back to her house."

Arthur reluctantly agreed.

* * *

Jól vagy? : Hungarian for 'Are you okay?'

Szívesen : Hungarian for 'You're welcome'

Mi a fene?! : Hungarian for 'What the hell?!'

(( Translations are from Google so if they are incorrect please tell me ))


	3. Feminine Struggles

As Arthur and Eliza took the wide, dirt passage back to Eliza's home, Arthur decided to see what his surroundings were. Tall grass flowed heavenly as the calm, cool early April breeze passed through on both sides of the road. A small dust cloud had risen but swiftly settled as the wind dissipated and the environment went back to its tranquil state. To the horizon Arthur saw a dense forest; probably the one I was in, he mulled to himself. As the light, gentle wind kicked up again Arthur noticed Eliza's dress and his own shirt start flowing with it. It was quite beautiful. Arthur did not like that the only sounds were the blowing of the wind and the crunching of the earth below them as they walked upon it. He had thought of some questions to fill up the void of silence:

"Hey Eliza, how long have you been living here?"

Eliza was startled by the sudden question, "O-Oh, not long. Maybe a few weeks at the most."

"I don't mean to pry, but do you have a special someone?"

"We've just met and you're already hitting on me?" Eliza raised an eyebrow and ironically chuckled.

"Ah n-no, I was just curious that's all."

"O-Oh, well I am still single but there's this boy that is just gorgeous." She blushed.

"Really? Does he live around here?"

"Um, yes. He lives a few miles away from my house. His name is Roderich and he is just the sweetest thing."

"Well that's nice."

"Yes, it is. Unfortunately for me though he never leaves his father's grand piano so I've never have really gotten to get to know him," Eliza sighed melodramatically, "It's a shame really."

"Most unrequited love tends to be."

"Do _you _have a special someone?"

A picture of Alfred appeared in Arthur's mind as soon as she asked. What the bloody hell, he thought, why would _he _of all people pop up in my head?! "Um…no, I tend to be a loner." Arthur was a bit of a recluse his whole life; this has resulted with no relationships under his belt.

"Really now? That's interesting."

Arthur was so used to that response that he did not even bother to question the interesting part anymore. He did seem to notice that when he brought up relationships she had gotten a tad uncomfortable. She gave off an air that she had those brief answers rehearsed because she was asked numerous times. The theatrical sigh only added to his suspicion. Arthur stopped walking.

"You're not really this superficial, are you?" Arthur said matter-of-factly.

"Excuse me?" Eliza also stopped and a few paces in front of him and turned to face him.

"This isn't you, is it?"

"What isn't me?"

Arthur said crossly, "Oh come on, Eliza! Do not play ignorant with me! You're not this girl who's head over heels over this Roderich. It's obvious that you are interested in him but he isn't of paramount concern to you, so why act like it? It's not like it's getting you anywhere."

Eliza's eyes widened at the unexpected outburst. She then took a deep sigh and replied poignantly, "Y-You're right. Roderich is just a boy that just happens to be one I like. I'm actually devoted to nature and painting," She lowered her gaze in embarrassment, "but I can't be like that. I'm a girl and all girls are supposed to do is marry a handsome man and be boy crazy. I used to tell the truth but people belittled me for it. I wish it was a different world but it isn't so I just conform."

"Well if you just keep following the double standard it's not going to change now is it?" Arthur started to walk past her.

Eliza gazed at him as he strode past like he was patronizing her, "It's not that easy, Arthur."

Arthur halted in his tracks and rotated his head in the direction of her, "Nothing worthwhile is easy to obtain. The only simple part is deciding how willing you'll be to achieve it. Now are you just going to stand there or are we going to get some lunch?"

She stared at him briefly and then caught up to him and said in a more optimistic tone, "I hope my mother has made something good today!"


	4. Unwanted Surprises

When Eliza opened the door the powerful scent of cooked onions practically slapped both of them in the face.

"What the bloody hell is that smell?!" Arthur's inquiry was muffled as he covered his nose with his arm.

"Anya, csináltál te csinál Francia hagymaleves?" Eliza asked as she turned to the right to enter the kitchen.

Her mother was at the fireplace stirring the liquid. "Igen!" she replied.

Arthur followed Eliza and uncovered his face, "Hate to be rude but, what the devil are you two saying?"

Eliza's mother responded in English with a strong Hungarian accent, "Oh sorry, Arthur. I forgot that you were even here! Eliza was just asking if I was making French onion soup and I just told her I was. I'll try to communicate in English for now on."

"It's okay. So should we sit at the dining room table in the living room?"

"Yes, that would be good."

Arthur and Eliza strode past Eliza's mother and turned left and went through the small passageway that connected the kitchen and living room. Since Arthur was the first to the table he pulled out a chair for Eliza and the one next to it for himself. Eliza thanked him for his courtesy as she sat down. He sat down right after and noticed there was a spoon already where he sat.

He asked Eliza, "Hey Eliza about my sleeping arrangements, do I have to sleep on that sofa again?"

She giggled, "Oh of course not! There's an empty guest room right next to mine that we decided you'll sleep in."

"Decided?"

"Well is there anywhere else you want to live at this point?"

"Well no, I guess not. I should thank you for keeping me even though I'm assuming your family is on the patriot's side."

"Thank me? You're a British soldier! You can practically live in anyone's house, remember?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot how much of a pompous ass I could be. Thanks for reminding me."

"No problem!" she smiled and then turned her head towards the kitchen, "Hey mom, how much time until the soup's done?"

Eliza's mother replied, "Just a few more minutes!"

"Okay!"

Arthur picked up his spoon and started to fiddle with it. He also started contemplating on why when Eliza mentioned 'special someone' he immediately thought of that boisterous boy Alfred. There's no way I could be queer, Arthur thought while tightly gripping the spoon, especially over someone so repulsive! Should I tell someone? He worriedly glanced at Eliza. Would she understand? Would she tell Alfred? You know what, Arthur concluded, I've just got here and met these people! I'm probably just not used to the new surroundings, yeah, that's it.

Eliza's mother brought two bowls filled with the steaming, dark russet liquid. Both Arthur and Eliza thanked her as she went back into the kitchen. As they both began to eat Arthur was surprised by how excellent it tasted compared to the smell of it. He also wondered what they would do after the meal, so he asked accordingly.

"Eliza, what do you want to do after we eat?"

She had taken a slurp of soup before answering, "Well, my mother wants me to pick up some thread at the dry goods store. Would you like to join me?"

"Sure."

When they both finished eating, they both rose from the table and Eliza called out to her mother, "Mother! Arthur and I are going to the dry goods store!"

"Okay! Remember I need navy blue thread!" her mother called back.

"Alright!" Eliza grabbed her purse and held open the door for Arthur as he passed through; she then closed it behind her.

Once they entered the dry goods store Arthur could not help it when he started to look up turn in circles just to take inventory of the numerous items that were on the shelves. He was like a kid in a candy store, to be completely honest. When you entered the store there was a long, ivory counter with a clerk standing behind it on your right; he was usually twiddling his thumbs out of boredom. There were dark green shelves behind him that went up to the ceiling filled with items ranging from sugar to rope. The wall's colour matched that of the shelves. Towards the back there was a barrel filled with hard candies. To your left were small aisles that faced you horizontally. The aisles had a wide variety of items. The hardwood floor beneath you would creak as you walked upon it.

"Okay thread is in the middle aisle so Arthur please snap out of your daze and follow me!"

"W-Wha? Oh, sorry." Arthur tagged along to the middle aisle with her.

As she was trying to pick the right shade of blue thread she remarked, "You act like you've never been in a store before."

"I have been in plenty stores, but not one like this."

"Well, I guess there's a first time for everything. You're going to be here a lot so get used to it."

"I am?"

"Yes, everybody socializes here."

"_Great._"

Eliza sniggered, "Don't sound so excited. Ah! Here's the right colour!"

Arthur waited patiently by the door as she paid for the spool of cotton thread. Once she was done with the transaction of currency she stuffed it into her purse and they both exited the establishment.

"What do we do now?" Arthur asked.

"Well we can meander around town until sundown; at least that's what I do."

"Okay, I can agree to that"

"It's not like you have a choice," Eliza laughed.

"Whatever."

The two had an entertaining time window shopping and going into the hat store and trying on the extravagant headgear. They laughed so loud at how ridiculous they appeared the clerk behind the counter rolled her eyes at them. They departed the store empty handed while snickering like schoolchildren. Then out of the corner of Arthur's eye he saw Alfred a few meters away across the main street. He turned to see him more clearly and observed him with another girl, and an attractive one at that. Why was there only one girl this time around, Arthur wondered, was she his girlfriend? Then he witnessed Alfred leaning in and vehemently kissing the brunette. A twinge of negative energy hit Arthur like a bullet through the heart. Was it jealousy? Yeah, he has a girlfriend so what, Arthur pondered, plus I just met the kid, why should I care? The question was more why he _did _care. He stared so long at the couple that Eliza had noticed.

"Hey Arthur, what're you looking at?"

Arthur instantaneously snapped out of his daze and turned towards her, "O-Oh, nothing. I just spaced out, that's all. It's one of my bad habits."

She lifted an eyebrow, "_Okay…_Anyway, the sun it beginning to set so we should start to head back home."

"Yes, the sun is starting to fall behind the horizon," he examined the setting sun behind her, "Let's go home."

When Arthur opened the front door for Eliza, they both saw her father pacing back and forth.

"Oh Eliza, I'm so glad you're home," Eliza's father said worriedly. He then noticed Arthur, "O-Oh hi Arthur, it's nice to see you in clean clothes. Anyway Eliza, would you please follow me into the living room?"

"Um, sure father," Eliza said as she followed her father into the living room, "you sound tense, is everything okay?"

Her father observed Arthur's puzzled expression and he told him to go upstairs because his room was ready. When the sound of Arthur's footsteps going up the stairs frittered away Eliza's father turned to face his befuddled daughter.

"So father…." Eliza began, "What seems to be the issue?"

Tears swelled up in his eyes, he already appeared to have just ended a crying fest, he told his daughter, "E-Eliza dear, your mother is….."

"My mother is…?"

His faced scrunched up like an accordion as he stammered the most unexpected word, "D-dead."

Eliza's jaw dropped at the statement. It had felt like her heart shattered into a million pieces. Tears ran down her face, "W-What did y-you say?"

Her father began to cry as he took a hold of her shoulders, "I-I'm so sorry E-Eliza…..but she's gone."

She shook out of her father's grasp and furiously sobbed at him, "WE DON'T JOKE ABOUT THESE THINGS, FATHER!"

"I-I am not joking, Eliza…she's….she's….really gone."

She fell to her knees and cupped her face into her hands as she began to weep. Mother was fine during lunch, Eliza thought hopelessly, she was just…._fine_. She raised her head from her hands, "How did she die?!"

Arthur had gone up the stairs and was now searching for his room. He opened the nearest door to his right and peered in appalled by the unexpected sight before him. As his eyes widened at the spectacle he overheard a scream that sounded like it escaped Eliza's lips. He was just about to do the same as he kept staring at her mother's limp corpse hanging from the ceiling beam. Arthur hesitantly backed away from the doorway while keeping his eyes locked on the body. He then turned and sprinted down the stairs only to see a more horrifying scene in the living room.

"SUCICIDE?!" Eliza screamed, "But she was so happy this morning!"

"I'm so sorry Eliza," her father embraced her into a hug, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I-I'm so sorry."

As she gingerly wrapped her now wilted arms around her father's strong body, the two grieving beings became one. Arthur strode slowly until he was just in the entrance of the living room. He knew he could not do anything to help them; he especially knew that crying along with them was not going make anything easier. All he did was stand there helplessly, watching the two broken souls try to put themselves back together again.

* * *

Anya, csináltál te csinál Francia hagymaleves? : Hungarian for "Mom, did you make French onion soup?"

Igen : Hungarian for "Yes"


	5. For the Best

After a few minutes of watching Eliza and her father weep, Arthur quietly backed away and returned upstairs. When he had gotten up there he closed the door to the room where the unfortunate woman had hung herself. He then opened the door to the room a few paces away on the left; _this_ was the correct room. The room was small and quaint with a twin sized bed to the left and a white dresser on the opposite side. The dresser's paint was worn and even chipped in some areas. The bed was a pale periwinkle blue and had a week's worth of clothing folded neatly near the foot of it. The dark hardwood flooring softly creaked as Arthur walked forward towards the four-paned window that was in the middle of the wall the separated the dresser and bed. The window had curtains that matched the colour of the bed and it overlooked the nearby forest and the family garden below. She's probably going to be buried there, Arthur thought. He looked up and observed the beautiful spectacle of orange and yellow hues of the sun setting. His once hard gaze softened at the heavenly blend of warm pigments; even a slight smile started to pull at his lips. Who knew that the sunsets in America and Yorkshire were different, he thought. Arthur raised his right hand and gingerly felt the glass of the window. The transparent solid had felt cool under his skin. Arthur wanted to collect all the shades that painted the evening sky and just put it in a jar to look at when he felt depressed. His hand slumped back to his side when he realized that was not possible. Arthur's head gradually turned to face the clothes that were at the foot of his bed. He went and put the apparel in the drawers of the dresser. His head then sharply rotated to the right at the sound of footsteps coming near his open door. The footsteps belonged to a now miserable Eliza; she stopped at his doorway and turned to face him.

"You found your room I see," she remarked in an exhausted, soft voice. Her face was flushed and fatigued from sobbing so much.

"Yes, yes I have." Arthur responded as he started to leisurely walk to his doorway, "My question is, are you alright?"

Eliza appeared to have wanted to roar at him like the lioness she was, but instead she calmly said, "My mother just hung herself. Do you think I'm alright?"

"Well what am I supposed to say Eliza, get over it because you'll be fine? I don't think so."

She began to sluggishly saunter away, "Goodnight, Arthur."

"Yeah…" he slowly closed his door, "goodnight…"

The door clicked shut and Arthur started unbuttoning his waistcoat. He then drew the curtains shut and undressed completely. He then tiredly crawled under the covers, turned on his side to face the wall, and sighed deeply into the darkness that filled the room. Behind him, a golden pixie materialized and floated above his shoulder.

"Hey, Artie!" the yellow pixie happily said in a squeaky voice.

Arthur turned onto his back and his shamrock coloured eyes squinted from the shower of golden light as he looked at the bright pixie, "F-Florina?" he said in a hoarse, jaded tone as he slowly sat up on the bed with the sheet that covered his body gently falling to his waist revealing a well built upper body, "What're you doing here?"

"Tee hee!" Florina now hovered at his eye level, "I just wanted to chat with you."

He rubbed his left eye, "Chat with me about what?"

"About your new life in Massachusetts, of course!"

"Well if you haven't noticed, it's not going too great so far."

"Yes," her tone had gotten more somber, "I have. I feel so bad for your friend Eliza, but I think you have something else on your mind than her mother's unfortunate suicide."

"Like what? How can anything else be more important?"

"Your love life. I saw you had mixed feelings for that Alfred boy."

"Pssh, like I said how can anything else be more important."

"Artie it's her obstacle, not yours. You have your own problems to focus on."

Arthur glared at her and snapped indignantly, "Are you saying I should just care about my own petty issues instead of helping my friend through this difficult time?! What kind of person would that make me?!"

"A smart one."

"How so?"

"No matter how much you're there for her _she_ will have to be the one that pulls herself out of this hole. If you keep worrying about this, you'll just end up as miserable as she is. Just come to her when he calls you and let her solve her own problems. Otherwise, she'll never grow as a person. You don't want to do _that_ to Eliza, do you?"

Arthur slightly lowered his head and gaze, "It's not like Alfred will love me back, Florina. Besides, it's a sin for a man to be attracted with another man. It's a lost cause."

Florina folded her arms and bit the inside of her cheek, "Where in the Bible does it say being queer is a sin?"

He looked back up at her wide-eyed, "Um….It doesn't even mention it."

"Exactly, you and everyone else were just brainwashed into believing it. Didn't you tell Eliza that nothing would change if you just conformed to the rules?"

"Yes, I do recall telling her that," Arthur's cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

"You give very good advice, Artie, but it's a pity that you seldom follow it."

He sighed, "But it's not like Alfred is going to reciprocate my feelings. He's obviously into women."

"You'd be amazed by how much a person hides, dear. Besides, you've just met the boy; your feelings might change."

"Yeah….I sure hope they do."

"Don't give up on a journey just because you don't know which path to take, Artie."

Arthur averted his gaze, "Should I get to know him better instead of staying home with Eliza?"

"Frankly, I believe you should but it's your choice. It's obvious that her father is staying home tomorrow so she won't be alone. Live your life, Artie, you've only got one after all."

He nodded, "Alright, I will."

Florina smiled and clapped her hands together, "That's my boy! Now get some sleep, dear. You have a big day tomorrow!"

"Goodnight, Florina," Arthur said as he pulled the covers back over his torso and lay back onto his right side.

"Goodnight, Artie," she then disappeared with a poof.

A streak of sunlight from behind the closed curtains had fallen over Arthur the next morning. The narrow beam covered his eyes and gracefully draped over the right side of his neck and shoulder. His eyes had resignedly opened to a blurry, white ceiling that gradually came into focus. Arthur had risen from his bed and rubbed his right eye while taking his covers off. Sitting on the edge of his mattress, he noticed his morning wood.

"Really?" he said while glaring down at it. Arthur then took a deep sigh and looked towards the door, "My second day in Massachusetts…..Hopefully no one else will kill themselves." He then leisurely left his bed and gravitated towards the window. When he opened up the curtains, the dazzling morning sunlight temporarily blinded him. As his eyesight returned he noticed the burial site of Eliza's mother next to the garden. The overturned dirt looked more than a meter long. Also where normally a tombstone would be located, there was a wooden cross with assorted wild flowers wrapped around it. "I've missed the ceremony," Arthur said somberly, "It wasn't like I knew her very well." He then averted his gaze to the nearby trees; the sunlight swathed everything in a subtle polish. He also noticed the leaves were starting to sprout on some trees. Even though someone had taken their life yesterday, it seemed that life kept moving forward without even detecting it. In fact, life was just starting again with the new spring flowers blooming and the trees sprouting new leaves. Arthur then realized the reason why you should not end your life: your death will not dim the light of the morning sun.

After that realization, he went to his dresser drawer and pulled out the clothes he was going to wear. Today's attire was another white shirt and a green waistcoat with navy blue trousers. Once done with tucking his trousers into his tall British army boots, he exited his room and went down the stairs. As he hopped off the final step of the staircase, he noticed two fatigued souls slouched on the living room floor. Eliza and her father had greeted Arthur by merely glancing up at him with reddened, swollen eyes. Arthur just nodded and walked out the door. Follow what Florina suggested, he thought.

While he was walking down the dirt road the sound of honking geese had flooded the morning sky with sound. Arthur glanced up at the 'V' formation that those mysterious birds had always made. He was always amazed by animal behaviour. As his locked gaze gradually gravitated down back to Earth, he noticed Alfred walking towards him while staring at the ground. He was wearing a blue shirt with white trousers and knee high boots.

"Alfred!" Arthur called out as his pace went from a slow walk to a jog.

Alfred had stopped in his tracks, looked up, and called back, "Bushy Brows!" Arthur was now right next to him.

"Where are you going this morning?"

"Oh nowhere, I just like to take a stroll on this weird ass road every morning. It's relaxing, ya know?"

"What makes this road so weird?"

"The fact that it's so boring." Alfred chuckled.

"Oh, well would it be less boring if I joined you?"

"Sure!" Alfred started to walk again, "I wanted to get to know you more anyway!"

As the two young men walked, the sounds of songbirds had filled the countryside air with pleasant noise. They had past young deciduous trees and scattered patches of wildflowers. However, the two were too occupied with conversing with each other that they did not even care to perceive the beautiful nature that was on both of the sides of the earthen path they treaded on.

"So Alfred, I saw you kissing some cute girl yesterday, is she your girlfriend?"

"The brunette? Naw, she's just one of them. Why you jealous?"

"Me jealous? No." _Not jealous that the girl isn't mine anyway_, "I was just wondering. And what do you mean by 'one of them'?"

"One of my admirers, duh. For a Brit you're pretty dumb!"

Just when I start to like your presence you have to turn into a total git again, Arthur contemplated. Then Arthur realized he was one of Alfred's admirers, _great,_ he thought. "Anyway, do you have any hobbies?"

"Other than killin' redcoats? Nah, not really. You?"

"Well I love to cook, but I stink at it."

"Ah, it's okay. After all, it _is_ the woman's job to cook."

"Heh, heh." _YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT_, "Yeah, I guess so," _I HOPE YOU GET TRAMPLED BY A HORSE! _Suddenly, Arthur had noticed a house to his right and a thought popped in his mind as he halted in his tracks;_ 'He lives a few miles away from my house. His name is Roderich and he is just the sweetest thing.'_ Arthur just had to ask, "Hey Alfred," he pointed to the house, "do you know who lives there?"

"In that house?" Alfred also stopped a few paces ahead and mimicked the pointing gesture, "Uh, yeah that's Roderich's house. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was just curious." Arthur caught up to Alfred, "Anyway, let's keep moving." While Alfred was faced forward while walking, Arthur looked behind him back towards the rather large building. I'm going to have a nice chat with him later, Arthur thought while narrowing his gaze.

"Hey," Arthur's head jerked back to Alfred; it looked like he was pointing farther down the way, "there's gonna be a drop comin' up. Just giving you a heads up."

Arthur was befuddled, "Drop?"

"Yeah, we're on a hill."

"Oh, right."

Just then the descent of the hill was only a short walk away. As the two walked down the somewhat steep land formation Arthur saw an enormous body of water in the distance. Arthur was flabbergasted by how vast it looked from where they were walking. Alfred noticed the awe stricken Arthur and remarked nonchalantly, "It's just a lake, it's not that interesting."

Arthur was wide-eyed with excitement; even though he could not swim, he loved gazing at bodies of water. He was breathless when he talked, "How is that not interesting! We have to get a closer look."

"Humph, fine." Alfred said melodramatically, "I'm only doing this because you're new here. Once you live here for a few months you'll realize it's just another boring ass pond."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Arthur strode past Alfred and began to run down the hill. Since it was not steep he did not worry about falling. Alfred was surprised by this sudden sprint and sighed and began to run after him.

"Oh, you wanna race, huh?" Alfred exclaimed as he was now at the same pace as Arthur, "Well I'm so gonna beat your ass!" Alfred picked up speed and sprinted past Arthur.

"Oh no you're not!" Arthur yelled childishly, he had not had this much fun since he was measly child. His run rapidly turned into a dash and he was now a few centimeters away from Alfred.

As they finally had gotten back on flat land, the tall grass whipped at their calves as they continued their race. Dodging the various conifers that dotted the small forest was no easy task when the lake seemed so close. Then unexpectedly the lake had caught up to Alfred and Arthur before they could put on the brakes and Alfred was the first to plummet into the shallow water. Arthur had fallen on top of him. Both drenched in the clear, quiet water they barely noticed the provocative position they were now in; Alfred was on the bottom facing up towards Arthur who had his arms extended to the moist earth below the blue sea. Their faces were only a few centimeters away from each other as their labored breaths dusted each other's faces.


End file.
